Lebanon
Lebanon erupts again, time to dig out the old inane cliches: Muslim-Christian civil war, Syrian President Hafez Assad’s role as a power broker, Syria’s peacekeeping role, etc. I wish to thank The Times and, especially, Robin Wright for rising above that level and above the rest of the press in an article about Lebanon (Part I, April 8).
While the violence in Lebanon repeats itself, relations between forces and factions sometimes do change. Robin Wright went beyond artillery shells and told us about some of these changes: that not only the Christians resent Syria’s presence, that (Christian) acting chief of state Michael Aoun wants reforms (but not under the Syrian gun), that the principal Muslim factions are on the sidelines in this latest round, etc. It was heartening to read “real” news about Lebanon.
It was also particularly interesting to read about the too often ignored Syrian role in Lebanon. The U.S. media at large have so far treated that role about the same way the Syrian-controlled press has. Is it sloppiness or is it Assad’s long reach? I am not sure which is worse.
Thank you again for “real” news about Lebanon’s latest nightmare.
GEORGE ELIAS
Los Angeles
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